


A Love So Simple

by Little_Plebe



Series: Wish Prompts [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 03:44:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11774793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Plebe/pseuds/Little_Plebe
Summary: It had become a habit of sorts, Steve seeking her after missions. Darcy didn’t know when it started, but she liked it, liked being the first person on Steve’s mind when he returned home from the field.





	A Love So Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Story based on a wish prompt sent to me by an anonymous user on tumblr. [Link here](http://littleplebe.tumblr.com/post/163917997614/hi-im-so-worried-im-asking-too-much-of-you-but).

It had become a habit of sorts, Steve seeking her after missions. Darcy didn’t know when it started, but she liked it, liked being the first person on Steve’s mind when he returned home from the field.

He didn’t ask for much, just sat there listening to her tell him about her day, or fell asleep on the couch if he was too tired to talk. He had nightmares often but they never spoke about them. Darcy let him set the pace, never pushing him into sharing more than he wanted to, never once forcing physical comfort on him. She was happy with just being someone who was a regular part of his life. She didn’t need more.

Then, one day he hugged her and she realized how wrong she was.

It wasn’t the first time he had touched her, but it was definitely the first time he had felt the need to bury his face in the crook of her neck and forget about real life. He held onto her for long minutes, breathing steadily into her hair while she murmured assurances in his ear.

“It’s okay… everything’s okay… you’re fine… you saved the day again…” Her words seemed to calm him and, after a while, his arms around her loosened and he pulled back with a shy smile.  
“What’s for dinner?”

He caught her by surprise. He never stayed for dinner.

“Um,” Darcy said, thinking fast. “Spaghetti.”

=======

She had always thought, when she fell in love with someone, it’d be a complicated relationship full of compromises. No guy would be able to appreciate or tolerate the work she did in Avengers Tower, constantly surrounded by genius scientists, self-sacrificing superheroes and the very real danger of occasional attacks.

But when she fell in love with Steve, it was nothing _but_ simple. She didn’t have to lie to him about her work life, wasn’t worried he’d hide things from her (because she almost always knew what he was up to) and she definitely didn’t feel like they had a complicated relationship. He had started coming over nearly every day now. They hung out, watched movies, ate dinner and, sometimes, he spent the night.

The first time he asked if he could stay with her, he had returned from a mission with a bullet hole in his gut. He stumbled through her door and right into her waiting arms.

“Darcy.” The desperation with which he whispered her name sent her heart racing. “Let me stay here tonight.”

She didn’t have to think twice to agree. Darcy was under no illusions about what he wanted from her. She knew all he really wanted was companionship--her companionship, to be exact--and she was more than willing to give it him. Even if it meant watching him sleep _a whole foot away_ beside her on the bed. She slipped her hand between his lax fingers and closed her eyes.

Over time, it didn’t matter that he wasn’t her boyfriend, or that he didn’t love her like she loved him. He treated her like she was the only thing in the world he enjoyed, the only thing that _mattered_. His behavior confused her, and Darcy didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, letting him past her walls so easily into her heart. He was so integrated in her life that she worried on days he didn’t show up.

But it had to be a bad thing, right? She had given up her entire social life to accommodate him, yet he only ever saw her as a friend, someone who freely gave hugs and offered comfort on a daily basis. Her heart ached whenever he was around and, sometimes, it was so hard to be in his presence without thinking about his lips on her, that Darcy had to go hide in the bathroom and take deep breaths till the urge passed.

It wasn’t fair… but that was her life now.

=======

It took Darcy some time to notice what was happening.

At first, she didn’t see it, little things like an unfamiliar novel on the shelf, a pair of boxers in the laundry basket, animal crackers in her kitchen cabinet. But when she _did_ notice, the realization hit her like a bucket of ice. Everywhere she looked, there was something to remind her of Steve. His long blue toothbrush sat next to hers in the bathroom, his shield lay near the fireplace, his shirts and a pair of pants were set in a neat pile in one corner of her closet, a sketchbook peeked out from underneath the pillow he usually slept on. Hell, even the sheets smelled like him!

It didn’t feel like she was in her apartment anymore. It felt like she was in _theirs_.

The transformation had undoubtedly been gradual, but it crept up on Darcy one day out of nowhere.

She panicked. When had this happened? What was she supposed to do? Should she ask him about it, draw attention to the fact that his things finding their way into her apartment was a big deal? Would he understand? Would he even _get_ what she was _really_ asking him?

When Steve arrived, she was bent over the kitchen island, heaving wet sobs into the circle of her arms. She looked up when a warm hand stroked down her spine. Steve took one look at her wrecked expression and pulled her into a hug.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered in her ear, the tenderness and concern in his voice drawing another loud sob from her.

“I’m panicking,” she cried, curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and holding on tight.

“About what?”

“You.”

“Me?” He kept his arms around her but pulled away a little so he could look at her face. “What did I do?”

Darcy stared at him. He didn’t know. _He didn’t know!_

She hated herself for it but she knew it was time to come clean. She couldn’t let this charade go on if she didn’t want Steve Rogers to completely ruin her life.

“What is your shield doing in my house?” The question came out more as an accusation but Darcy was past feeling guilty.

Steve’s brow furrowed. “It’s been here since I returned from my last mission.”

Darcy shook her head and her voice rose as she demanded, “What about your clothes, your sketchbook, those fitness magazines on the coffee table, your boots in the hallway, your--?”

A hand to her cheek cut her off. “What’s this really about, sweetheart?”

Her lip trembled and her eyes filled with fresh tears at the endearment. God, why was he so nice to her?

A tear slid down her cheek and Steve wiped it with his thumb, his touch gentle. His left arm was still wrapped firmly around her waist.

“What are we, Steve?” Darcy finally asked, quiet and defeated. “What am I to you?”

If he was surprised or puzzled by her question, he didn’t show. Instead, he tilted his head and regarded her with an expression she couldn’t quite place.

“Why are you asking this now?”

New tears rolled down her cheeks and she swiped at them angrily. “Because it seems like we’re nearly living together and I… I don’t know what it means!” She looked at him then, and asked very seriously, “So I ask again, what do I mean to you?”

Steve didn’t respond immediately. His eyes tracked the movement of his hand as it slid down her cheek to cup her jaw. He looked… conflicted. And scared. But the more he waited, the more upset Darcy became.

When he finally spoke, the answer wasn’t what she had expected at all. “I love you.”

“What?” Her eyes were wide and the word fairly hitched in her throat.

Steve gulped and nodded. “I do. I love you.”

He sounded sincere, desperate even, so although she was utterly blindsided by his confession, Darcy had no choice but to believe him. The way he was looking at her… had he always looked at her like that or had she just never noticed?

“Wait,” she said forcefully, still a little lost on the how and the why. “Wait. Why don’t I know this? Why didn’t you tell me before today?”

“Because I wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted,” Steve divulged, looking pained. “You were always so set on maintaining boundaries. You didn’t touch me unless _I_ initiated. You happily let me sleep in your bed but never kissed me. You were always there for me as a friend but you never made a move to be anything more. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to ruin what we already have.”

It felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. Her stunned gaze flitted between his eyes as her brain tried to process his words. And when the meaning behind them finally sank in, Darcy let out a dry sob and rocked forward, pressing her face into Steve’s shoulder.

How had she not noticed his feelings for her? All these months, how had she been so damn _blind_? So selfish?

Steve tightened his arms around her and pressed his lips to her hair. “I’m sorry to put you through this, Darce,” he murmured. “I tried, I really did. But I couldn’t make myself stay away. I want you. I want you _all_ the time!”

“Me, too.”

“Hmm?”

Darcy pulled away to look at him earnestly. She quickly wiped her tear-streaked face and declared, “I love you, too.” She paused and added, just so he’d have no reason to doubt her, “I have for a long time.”

A flash of disbelief passed over Steve’s face as he studied her for several long seconds. Then, his eyes closed and he let out a long, relieved exhale. “Good. That’s good.”

“I love you,” Darcy whispered, trying out the phrase again.

Steve’s eyes opened and a soft smile spread on his face, a smile so fond and _content_ that Darcy felt like her heart would burst.

“I love you,” she repeated. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Saying the words felt so freeing she couldn’t stop. It felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders and the more she said those three words to him, the brighter her world became. “I love you, I love you, I _love_ \--”

There was a low huff of laughter and then Steve’s mouth was on hers, kissing her like she had always wanted to be kissed. Darcy closed her eyes and lifted her chin with a happy sigh.

It started out sweet and tender, an achingly slow exploration of trembling lips sliding against each other. Bodies pressed close and fingers dug desperately into warm flesh as their mouths came together again and again.

Steve touched her with a passion that reflected her own, pouring all those months of pent-up emotions into the kiss. And it had been so long since she had been kissed in such a way that the accompanying sensations nearly overwhelmed her. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and Darcy thought she would explode from the heat. A painful shudder shot through her when Steve pulled her bottom lip into his mouth and nipped, making her whimper and ball her hands into the front of his shirt.

With a curse, Steve pulled away and touched his forehead to hers. They were both breathing heavily, chests brushing with each inhale and hearts pounding wildly.

“Does this mean we’re living together?” Darcy whispered, a small satisfied smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Do you want us to be?” Steve asked, stroking his knuckles down her jaw.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll box up the rest of my things and bring them here tomorrow.”

Darcy looked at him. “Why not tonight?”

His eyes dropped to her lips and Darcy felt the heat of his gaze down to her very core. “I’m not going anywhere tonight.”


End file.
